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Chapter 10
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Glass Sword, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Oppression, Cruelty, and Inequality
Division and Hierarchy
Identity and Change
Betrayal, Distrust, and Isolation
Justice vs. Vengeance
Summary
Analysis
At night, Mare, Cal, Shade, Kilorn, and Farley travel on foot through the forest to Coraunt. Mare is wary of running into any Silvers, who would recognize Cal immediately and maybe even kill him. The reminder that Silvers aren’t invincible brings Mare courage that she’ll be able to defeat Maven and Elara. When Mare and the others reach a stream, Kilorn and Mare swim across it easily, but Cal is reluctant. He’s a burner—a Silver who manipulates fire—so water weakens him. Mare knows that Cal has been taught to fear and hate weakness and that Cal almost drowned to death when Maven tried to execute them. So, Mare encourages Cal, which comforts him enough to cross the stream.
Mare used to believe Silvers were godlike beings much greater and stronger than her. Now, she knows Silvers aren’t actually better than other people, though they claim to be. In reality, Silvers are human, and they—especially Maven and Elara—deserve to be brought to justice for the harm they’ve done to Reds and even other Silvers. Cal has a harder time than Mare seeing through their society’s division between Silver strength and Red weakness. He still despises weakness, which is associated with being Red. That Cal is able to cross the stream with Mare’s help showcases the value of supportive allies, particularly in the face of obstacles that individual strength alone can’t conquer.
Active
Themes
Mare and the others arrive at a hill overlooking Coraunt. To Mare’s unease, the group splits up. Farley and Shade go to infiltrate the village and find Nix Marsten. Meanwhile, Mare and Cal stay behind; if they’re discovered, Maven will capture them, and Mare’s efforts to fight against him with the other newbloods will end prematurely.
Mare can’t accomplish everything on her own. She must trust her friends to pull off part of her plan without her, which unnerves her. She doesn’t like blindly relying on other people, especially after Maven betrayed her trust. Nevertheless, Mare agrees to stay in hiding because rescuing the newbloods is too important to risk being found by Maven.
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Mare also demands that Kilorn stay behind. Even though he can take care of himself and expresses his frustration at being coddled, Mare wants to protect him. She worries that his skills are too limited to be useful, especially because he doesn’t have an ability. Mare wishes Kilorn still lived in the Stilts far away from the dangers of her own life, yet she also doesn’t want to be without him.
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Kilorn, Mare, and Cal wait under cover in a grove. Mare wonders what the next steps are after finding the newbloods and what she should say to Nix Marsten. Mare decides to tell him everything she knows about newbloods and allow him to choose whether he wants to fight with her against Maven or return to his old life. She wishes that she herself had been given a choice before she became the lightning girl.
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After an hour, Shade and Farley return with Nix Marsten, a stocky middle-aged man. Nix came willingly, even though Security officers would execute him for associating with the Scarlet Guard and breaking curfew. Mare tells Nix that he’s different and might think something is “wrong” with him. Nix understands what she means and admits to feeling this way. Seeing Nix up close, Mare observes that his eyes look like her dad’s: hollow from loss.
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Nix recognizes Cal as a Silver prince and attacks him furiously. Mare tries to stop Nix with her electricity, but Nix isn’t harmed by her lightning or Cal’s fire. Mare realizes that Nix’s ability gives him impenetrable skin. Shade breaks up the fight by teleporting Nix a few feet away, and Mare tries to convince him that Cal is on their side. But Nix blames Cal for the death of his two 19-year-old daughters, who died in the war against the Lakelands. Mare is sickened by the reminder that, as a general, Cal is responsible for the deaths of countless innocent Reds.
Cal apologizes to Nix. He tells Nix he’s a newblood—Red and Silver—though Nix refuses to be called Silver. Cal also explains that Maven is hunting the newbloods to kill and erase them from history. Nix grows emotional when he hears that there are more people like him, and Mare assures him that she’s trying to find them all. Farley also claims the Scarlet Guard will protect and train the newbloods, but Mare remembers the Colonel’s dislike of newbloods and wonders if Farley has her own plans.
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Mare warns Nix that if he chooses to stay home, Maven will find him eventually. But she emphasizes that Nix is free to choose his own path forward. Nix agrees to join Mare and the others as long as Cal keeps his distance away from him.
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